New soft corals dying in less than a week..

[Harumachibito]

Hi guys,

Need some help on keeping softies..

My tank is about 1+yrs old and i only keep softies like leather, xenia..The softies used to do very well, expanding and growing until when my tank hit almost a year... one day everything just decided to die. Really everything.. only thing left was my pulsing xenia.

 

Few months down, my xenia is still doing pretty well n spreading. I still would love to have leathers in my tank so on off, i will try adding one into my tank.. but they just die within five days.. the fastest record was by the next day. 

 

Fish, shrimp, snails and the xenia are doing fine, just my tank causes immediate death to those softies

 

Anyone have any idea what could be so deadly about my tank? I've only heard about softies SLOWLY wasting away due to bad water etc... but never instant death.. appreciate some help on this... thanks.

[Solo77]

Chk Yr salinity. 

[Harumachibito]

Hi Solo77,

Thanks for replying. My salinity is kept at 1.024... I'm using those hydrometer that u fill with water and the arrow moves to point at the markings. Have been using this for the past 4years perhaps. Not sure whether it has gone inaccurate after so mny years lol. Will get a new hydrometer later. Is it okay if i buy back the same kind? Or i need to get some expensive type? Thks!

[Solo77]

Try refractometer, buy second hand if on budget. 

[KL Tay]

You didn't mention water change.
I suggest do a water change will be safe.

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[KL Tay]

Use DI filtered water.

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[Harumachibito]

Hi KL Tay,

I do water change weekly with saltwater purchased from LFS. Will add some red sea Coral Pro Salt to increase salinity to 1.024 to match my tank cos i realized the water i buy usually is around 1.017.. i use those NTUC Life brand water for top ups though.

 

Thks

[Harumachibito]

Hi guys.

Managed to get a second hydrometer first and tested my water... wow this new one shows salinity exceeding the readings and going all the way to the top while my old one still shows plus minus 1.024.. 

Tried the new hydrometer in my dad's goldfish tank n the arrow didnt move at all (stay at bottom) so i doubt this is a faulty hydrometer lol..

So my guess now MIGHT be the salinity that is causing "instant" deaths to my corals. N i noticed the new snails i added three days back are actin weird.... hmm, how did my cleaner shrimp and xenia survive the crazy salinity if that is the reason haha.

 

Anyway, i will slowly bring the salinity back down... maybe the "1.017" reading i got from buying saltwater from LFS was actually the good level and i messed it up... thks n will update u guys!

[Solo77]

Good that u found the cause. Happy reefing. 

[Otaku Reefer]

did u check alk? i overdose alk before, corals die one by one...


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[Otaku Reefer]

i notice u using coral pro, that is high alk salt ah, for softies use red bucket can liao.. my 2 cents again


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[mervyn yap]

Do small water change of 10-20% on alternate day to get back to the salinity you want.Think this will be faster.

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[Harumachibito]

18 hours ago, Otaku Reefer said:

i notice u using coral pro, that is high alk salt ah, for softies use red bucket can liao.. my 2 cents again


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Hi Otaku,

What is red bucket lol. Like whats the name. Changed to this cos website say this is for mixed reef.. previously used e one for sps dominant tank n corals start dying... therefore i changed haha

[Harumachibito]

3 hours ago, mervyn yap said:

Do small water change of 10-20% on alternate day to get back to the salinity you want.Think this will be faster.

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Hi Mervyn,

Yeah just did a small water change this morning... removed like 4 cups of water n top up with fresh water (ntuc life brand).. gonna do this slowly everyday.. hope it helps

[Otaku Reefer]

Hi Otaku,
What is red bucket lol. Like whats the name. Changed to this cos website say this is for mixed reef.. previously used e one for sps dominant tank n corals start dying... therefore i changed haha

red bucket is the red sea normal salt, coral pro all elements elevated, not sure good or bad but i think better stick to ocean values, i would recommend u stick to red sea red bucket (normal one), i notice u using ntuc water ah, why dont invest in RODI system? can buy from taobao 4 stage get zero tds..not super ex, ard 60 sgd bah


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[Otaku Reefer]

btw u reefing for 1 yr+ liao, what is original salt u using? or u started with coral pro liao?


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[Harumachibito]

3 hours ago, Otaku Reefer said:

red bucket is the red sea normal salt, coral pro all elements elevated, not sure good or bad but i think better stick to ocean values, i would recommend u stick to red sea red bucket (normal one), i notice u using ntuc water ah, why dont invest in RODI system? can buy from taobao 4 stage get zero tds..not super ex, ard 60 sgd bah


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Haha thought of it... but dont have space for that lei... n hardest part is need to convince family member due to extra space needed lol. Also feel bad for throwing so mny plastic bottles every time.

3 hours ago, Otaku Reefer said:

btw u reefing for 1 yr+ liao, what is original salt u using? or u started with coral pro liao?


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I've always buy from LFS and never really bother about salinity. Have been reefing for at least 3 years and never added salt before cos i assume their water is ok.

But this latest tank that i have is the one i put most money n effort into lol. That's why i thought i wanted to follow the recommended salinity of 1.024.. then i started to add salt (started with red sea salt that is for SPS dominant tank... then changed to coral pro.) But didnt expect e hydrometer was giving problem. Come to think of it, the instant death of coral might have started when i start adding salt to increase salinity... the best moment of my tank MIGHT be before i add salt... cant really rmb

 

Previously was vry budget simple kind of tanks cos still young no money. Lol

[Otaku Reefer]

oic, need to verify the water even if get from LFS, every mistake is expensive mistake in this hobby lol, for the add salt thingy, follow the age old saying, dont try to fix if it aint broken, cos u might be making it worse, if really need change do it real slow...good luck


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[Harumachibito]

Hi all, just an update. Slowly reduced my salinity to the 'real' 1.024 as per my new hydrometer over a week's time... and bought 2x new soft coral on saturday. They have opened up real nicely so far! No more instant death. Thanks all for the help!

[Solo77]

Good to hear.